Phone Tag
by Cthulhu On Rye
Summary: Five years after the happenings of RENT, Collins is back in town and feels like geting the old group back together. Speedrend entry that didn't quite make it MarRog, MoJo, Hinted ColBen, mentioned MimiOC


/Speeeeeak/   
"Hey Marky, guess who's back in town? I got a ride back as soon as I heard about the film. Great job man, we all knew you'd get noticed someday. Anyway, let's get together, eh? I'm thinkin' the Life this afternoon, it'll be my treat. I'm gonna try n' get everyone together, just like the old days. You, me, Roger (you still with him by the way?), Mimi, Maureen, even Joanne. C'mon man, you know you wanna come. Call me back, ok?"

/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your message./  
"Collins, it's Mark. I'm free for the Life later today; I'll bring Roger too (Yes we're still together, three years and going strong). He said he wasn't working earlier (would you believe he's got a cooking job now? Yeah, I know/our/ Roger cooking. But it's true, and he's not too bad either) and I'm almost sure the band doesn't have practice tonight. How long are you gonna be around? Long enough for me to show you the newest film I hope, you oughta come and hear one of Rogers gigs, too." A pause, "They've gotten better, I promise. Anyway call me back if anything changes. Oh! Before I forget to ask, where're you teaching at now? Are you even teaching at all anymore? Last I heard you were doing that whole lecture thing- is that still going on? Yeah we definitely need to get together tonight..."

/Speeeeeak/   
"You know, Marky-boy, I still can't believe you have that same old message. Eh, what can I shouldn't be /that/ surprised, you've never been one to leave the past behind. Anyway, yeah, I'm still lecturing (I've got a spot at NYU in a few days, think they'll remember me?). Roger's gone into cooking, huh? That should be an interesting experience. Why the fuck are we even going out if Mr. Chef can just make food for us? Oh, since he's doing the whole cooking thing, has he made you any romantic dinners on the roof or some shit like that?"

/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your message. /

"Hey, I LIKE the old message. Nothing's wrong with it, if you ask me. That's beside the point, though. You want Roger to make dinner? Are you sure about that, I mean he's good at what he does (haven't gotten any food poisoning anyway) but still...I dunno, let's just go to the Life, ok? Besides, I doubt he'll wanna cook right now with you back in town and all that. You still never said how long you're staying here, although if that thing you've got at NYU's in a "few" days I suppose that gives us three or four to mess around with, or maybe not I dont' know beacuse YOU didn't tell me. Look I gotta go get ready to leave, I'll see you there. Oh and yeah he's done it before, I'll tell you details later if you want."

/You've reached the office of Joanne Jefferson, I'm sorry I couldn't get to the phone at the present but if you leave your name and number I'll get a hold of you as soon as possible./  
"Jo, are you there ,pookie? I just got a call from Collins, he wants us to meet him at the Life. We're not doing anything, are we? Even if we are I bet we could cancel, I mean Collins doesn't come by that often anymore. C'mon pookie, pick up! Look, I'm going over there as soon as I clean up here. OH! You'll never guess who dropped by earlier! ...Have you guessed yet? Oh well, I'll just tell you. Mimi! It seems like all the old faces are popping up lately. Anyway, call me back, ok? I love you!"

/Maureen and Joanne Jefferson here! We're nowhere near a phone, sorry about that, probably at work (the shop just can't LIVE without me and you know Joanne, busy busy). Yeah, anyway, leave your song at the beep, ok/  
"Hey, honeybear, I got the call from him, too. I said we'd meet him as soon as we could. I've still got a few things to take care of at the office but it shouldn't take that long. How's the shop coming along? Everything's alright, I hope. You saw Mimi? What was she doing around there? How was she, did she look ok? She's coming to the Life, right? Collins said he tried to get a hold of her but he didn't have a number. Bring her along if you can, ok? I love you, too."

/You've reached the office of Joanne Jefferson, I'm sorry I couldn't get to the phone at the present but if you leave your name and number I'll get a hold of you as soon as possible./  
"Hey, pookie, it's me. I'm getting ready to head out to the Life now, and Mimi's here with me. I'm letting her borrow some of my stuff since she was still in her work clothes. Oh, say hi, Mimi!" A different voice, "Hi Joanne!" "That was Mimi. Anyway, we're gonna walk up there together. Don't get too caught up in work, ok? I know how you can do that sometimes. The shop's fine, everything looked good when I left. We got the new shipment of dresses in this morning, so I was busy sorting through that all day. I ended up tipping over a whole rack earlier...Jo, get that look off your face, I was careful to get everything back together safe n' sound. You've got to trust me sometimes. Oh look, Mimi's almost ready. Gotta go, love you!"

/Maureen and Joanne Jefferson here! We're nowhere near a phone, sorry about that, but probably at work (the shop just can't LIVE without me, you know! And you know Joanne, busy busy). Yeah, anyway, leave your song at the beep, ok/  
"You're going now? It seems a bit early, doesn't it, oh well. Hi Mimi, hope things are well. Glad to hear from you again. I can't help if I get a little caught up now and then. People /need/ me, Maureen. Anyway...you're /sure/ you got everything straightened out right? You didn't miss anything/and/ yu put them in order again?" A laugh. "Look who's talking about trust. I trust you, Maureen but...look, I gotta go someone just walked in. I'll see you two at the Life."

-

/If you need to know my name I don't see why you're calling here. The band has it's own line and anyone I'd even WANT to talk to at least knows my fucking name...Leave a message after the beep./  
"I know your name, Roger Davis, now pick up the fuckin' phone before I start calling Mark again...Hey, why do you two have different lines? Whatever. I already talked to him about going to the Life but I'm gonna tell you, anyway. Get your ass to the Life, man! Everyone's meeting up there, Maureen's even gonna bring Mimi along. Mark said he was getting ready and I think Maureen might already be going. Look, you'd better show up or we'll all hunt you down and drag you there, anyway. By the way, one day before I leave you'd better make me dinner and no, pouring some Capt'n Crunch into a bowl does NOT count."

/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your message./   
"Why does it matter if we have different lines, if we want different lines we're gonna have them! I already knew about the Life, everyone else's been calling about it, too. Mark is getting ready and I'm...ok, well, I'm just laying here but I'll do something sooner or later. Mimi's coming? I didn't think she was even in New York anymore; we lost contact a little while back. Why am I not surprised Maureen tracked her down. Hate to cut this short but Mark's glaring at me and pointing at the shower. Oh, and you know what? Fuck you, if I wanna give you Capt'n Crunch, then I'll give you fuckin' Capt'n Crunch!"

/If you need to know my name I don't see why you're calling here. The band has it's own line and anyone I'd even WANT to talk to at least knows my fucking name...Leave a message after the beep./  
"I swear, if you make me Capt'n Crunch...You know what, nevermind! Look, I'm on my way out, just gotta make one or two more quick calls. Yes, Mimi's still around New York. Maureen says she got a job at a hotel somewhere. Says she wound up with one of the guys who works there, too. I dunno anything about it though, if you hurry up you can ask her about everything yourself. So c'mon! You'd better not call me back until you're done with all your shit."

/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your message./  
"Don't start, I'm already clean. Just calling to say that we're getting ready to go. Mark's looking for his camera and I'm trying to find a shoe. We should be there in about ten minutes or so. She's in a hotel, eh? Well it's better than the Cat Scratch. I'll bring it up later. You and I oughta' talk, too. Hell, let's face it: everyone needs this little get-together."

-

/This is Benjamin Coffin III, and I apologize for not being near the phone right now. Please leave a name and number after the beep./  
"Hey Benny, it's Collins. I don't know on what terms you're on with everyone else but we're all getting together at the Life tonight. You don't have to stay long, in fact I'm not even sure how long we'll be there, but you should try and drop by. So far I think everyone else is coming and it would be great to have the /whole/ group there, you know? It's cool if you don't come, no one even knows I called you really, but I figured that maybe...look, just show up if you want, there'll be a space for you. Gotta go now, I'm late."

/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your message./  
"Hello Collins, nice to hear from you again. Um, about the Life...Look, I'm not sure if..." There is yelling in the background. "You know what, I'll be there as soon as I can. It'll be...nice to see everyone again. How're you anyway? I myself am fine. Still with Allison." There is more yelling. "Although, we're going through a bit of...well, trouble. Thing's are fine though, we're getting over it. I'll try to drop by though, even if it's just for a short while. I've uh I've...well it's good to hear from you again, Collins."

-

That evening the Life Cafe had a very special group come in. It was a group of friends who hadn't been there in quite some time. They pushed two tables together, much to the waiter's dismay, then drank, ate, and chatted nearly the whole night long.  
The seven of them were laughing and still enjoying themselves when closing time came around. One suggested they all return to his place and continue their little get-together. As everyone gathered their things another made a remark that seemed to catch everyone's attention. "Hey guys, let's not wait another five years to do this, ok?"

So that night as they walked out of the Life Cafe, reveling in the old and new memories they had created, the seven of them vowed to not to let time slip away again and once again live life as "No day but today".


End file.
